At 5, Big Ten Network has grown up fast

The network celebrated its birthday on Thursday -- and it's been giving the Big Ten plenty of reasons to celebrate since its difficult birth in 2007.

Commissioner Jim Delany said the 24-hour network devoted solely to the conference is now available in 90 million homes nationwide, and it has been a major contributor to doubling the league's revenues over the past five years from about $150 million per year to around $300 million.

Delany and BTN president Mark Silverman were in New York this week taking a victory lap, the highlight of which was ringing the closing bell at the NASDAQ stock exchange in Manhattan.